“Ye ken everythin’ will be all right, daenae ye?” Jude asked as Cleopatra felt his hand tighten around hers. She nodded.
“I know you will do everything in your power to find out who was behind this,” she said.
In the depths of Jude’s eyes, Cleopatra noticed that he was staring at her, not with pity or remorse but with something else. She watched as he struggled to get the words out and realized she must have looked the exact same way to Hugh only moments before.
“I want to thank ye,” Jude said, finally breaking the silence.
“For what?” Cleopatra asked as she glanced over her shoulder checking on Hugh, who still seemed emerged in the book that he picked out.
“Ye saved our lives. That is nae somethin’ that we are likely to forget. But how did ye ken the food was poisoned?” Jude asked us his eyebrow arched up.
“In my father’s study there are a several books that I had often stolen for the day. Books that allow me to learn things outside of the manner. And being a curious child, I read them all. Of course, some of them helped me as a child to avoid the poisons that grew around me as I played in the ruins near my Father’s manor. Knowing which ones to touch, and which ones to avoid served me well,” Cleopatra started to explain.
“In one such volume, I learned of poisonous plants and put to memory of what they smelled like, both cooked and naturally. This morning, your dishes caught my attention. I cannot remember for the life of me the name of the plant and I am sorry for that, but I knew they were not safe to eat.”
Jude shook his head as he squeezed her hands tighter and stepped closer to her. “Daenae apologize for yer quick thinkin’. Ye saved both me and me son, and I am forever in yer debt because of it.” Cleopatra gave a sharp nod as she pulled her hands away from Jude.
“Your son needs you. This event has wreaked havoc on him and he needs strong guidance right now,” Cleopatra said as she stared at Jude wishing with all of her might that he would comfort her. Yet in the depths of her being, she knew that it wasn’t right for her to steal such affection from him now, not when his son needed him more.
Cleopatra stepped to the side and allowed Jude to enter the room giving another nod as she noticed Jude steal one last glimpse of her before swiftly moving to the settee. As Cleopatra stood in the doorway watching Jude and Hugh, her heart went out to them. She watched as the boy broke down and fresh tears streamed down his face. Cleopatra watched Jude slip around the settee and hold onto his son, rocking the boy back and forth.
“It’ll be all right,” Jude said rocking Hugh in his arms. “We are rulers and sometimes bad things do happen.”
“Why?” Hugh wailed as Cleopatra drifted to sit on the other side of Hugh. She rubbed the boy’s back as she stole glimpses of Jude.
“There is no telling why things happen the way they do,” Cleopatra answered. “What matters is how you react to the bad situations and what you do to overcome them.”
Jude gave her a gentle nod as if pleased by how well she was handling her own fear. After all, she had been in the same room and was offered the same food. The thought of Jude or Hugh being harmed or killed rattled her.
“What do you say I read for a bit?” Cleopatra said. “I know it won’t make things better, but maybe you might be soothed by it?”
Her eyes flicked to Jude, once again searching for approval. He gave her a short nod as Hugh continued to weep in his father’s arms. Slowly, Cleopatra rose and walked to the bookshelf. Scanning the books, she finally pulled one that she thought would help Hugh the most.
“Ah,” she said as she moved quickly back to Hugh’s side and opened the book. “This one will work.”
Cleopatra settled beside Hugh and began reading to him slowly. She could tell almost immediately her soothing tone allowed Hugh to settle down a bit and the boy went from weeping, to resting his head on Jude’s shoulder without a peep.
As the day wore on, Cleopatra continued to read until Hugh’s eyes fluttered shut and he was sound asleep on Jude’s lap.
“Thank ye for that,” Jude said stroking the boy’s hair.
“It was the least I could do,” Cleopatra said, “I only wish I could have done more for him.”
“Ye did enough,” Jude said keeping his eyes on her. “At least he is restin’ now.”
“We should probably get him to his room,” Cleopatra said as she rose slowly so as not to disturb Hugh.
“Nay,” Jude said, “he’ll go to my room.”
“Do you want me to fetch a servant to carry him?”
“Nay, I’ll take him and be with him until he wakes,” Jude answered as he carefully scooped Hugh into his arms. With great ease, Jude rose to his feet, with Hugh cradled to his chest. Cleopatra couldn’t help but admire the way Jude was so tender with Hugh.
As Cleopatra placed the book back on the shelf, Jude turned to her.
“May I see ye later?”
“I would like that,” she said as she gave a soft smile. She watched as Jude carried Hugh out of the library and disappeared around the corner. Her shoulders dropped as she slipped the book back onto the shelf.
Glancing around the room, she felt lonely. So much had happened that she struggled to make any sense of it. She knew all she could do was wait and pray that an answer to the madness would present itself sooner rather than later.
Turning, she walked out of the room. She felt the lump forming in her throat as she drifted further and further away from Jude. She
